Universities' financial position - should this affect decision on where to study?

[Gillemeow]

My teen is looking to do sociology and French with a 2026 start date. We have been warned that languages are at the front line of university cuts due to the extra support language students need. We are also conscious that languages involve 4 year degrees due to the year abroad.

Teen is looking at Newcastle University (likely firm choice), University of Liverpool (likely insurance choice), Durham University and University of Manchester. Their predicted grades and GCSEs are fine for all those universities.

We haven't visited Durham yet (going next month) but they are probably the best academically and are higher up the Complete University Guide league tables. It looks like they are in financial trouble though with an operational deficit of £8 million. They have made staff cuts, reduced library opening hours, cut breakfast clubs and reduced placement expenses payments. According to the BBC, "Durham University said it was planning to make £10m cuts during the current academic year and a further £10m during 2025-26."

Newcastle University announced an operational deficit of £5 million in 23/24. It looks like voluntary severance, promotion freezes, restricted travel and cutting unfunded research was the solution. There are no current plans to make any compulsory redundancies.

The University of Liverpool is in surplus and the University of Manchester is significantly in surplus.

We didn't get a good vibe from Manchester, which combined with the nicer and much cheaper accommodation (over £65 a week, for less weeks) at Newcastle has made Newcastle the likely firm choice. We liked Liverpool and Newcastle at the open days but teen prefers the Newcastle course, accommodation, city and campus. There's not a massive difference in the league tables between those 3 unis. All are within a reasonable travelling distance from home.

So to sum up, how much weight should we give concerns about potential further university cut backs and how big a deal is an £8m versus £5m deficit? Is there anything other than the things I listed above that we should be considering before making a decision?

This is sensible on its face and I cannot see how it could hurt.

But the people you will be questioning are likely to be admissions tutors and other School level academics. They won’t know much more than what the public record reflects, because as soon as they do the academics’ union (UCU) will be publicising it.
Of course it is not the job of applicants or their families to keep up with the latest, so there might be some information here.

But we’re seeing that the real financial problems are held as tight secrets until such things as severance programmes are announced. And no one in British life except the Senior Civil Service and the staff of the Royal Family is better at Not Quite Lying, in a very reassuring manner, than academics promoted to the university ruling class.

DH friend works at the University of Nottingham, we used to all work together at a different University. They need to save 50 million and are proposing 600 redundancies over the next 4 years. They have already had 300 people accept redundancy, all voluntary. This time it will probably go to compulsory.

None of us were in modern languages but I understand it’s one area that overall is taking a huge battering.

I used to work open days and give talks, it’s best bib and tucker and all about those bums on seats. Heads of departments get a heads up after senior team, DH did 2 years ago, He ended up taking VR as have 5 of our friends, all that experience just gone, we worked out it was about 200 years service between the lot of them.

That sounds really difficult @ViciousCurrentBun. Working in universities is pretty rough right now. The sector needs to change radically if it wants to thrive.

@AlphaApple it has changed beyond recognition since covid but was on a downward trajectory before that. So many had huge over ambitious building projects.